Croc

Your eyes don't deceive--it's better. And +1 on the haggling. Disagree. The materials in the Intrigue would have improved, if continued, and not taken a step back. I never understood the praise for the AURA...it screamed cheap to me with the plastic door sills and fake plastic "stitching" on them. Oh, cheesy fake wood, and that corrugated guage plate? Amber backlighting? Yikes.

How do you have power out for that long? Is your infrastructure that bad, or do you guys need a more competent public utilities commissioner?

But I don't think giving SAAB more dealerships is really "managing" or "developing"...it's more like "HELLO PEOPLE WANT TO GIVE YOU THEIR MONEY AND CANNOT EASILY!"

Agreed.

I'm surprised you have so many above-ground electrical wires. Parts of LA do too, but we only have the Santa Anas to worry about, not ice or snow bringing wires down...

The hell is your point? Saturn hasn't sold the S-series in years, and when it did, that was before Saturn was repositioned as a premium brand, essentially to replace Olds. Exactly. And Saturn doesn't have the lack of dealerships problem that SAAB does. Frankly, though, I don't think the blame lies on Saturn entirely...Note I previously said GM "attempted" to reposition Saturn...GM never did that. I took one look at the AURA when it first came out and knew then that it would never work. GM doesn't know how to reposition brands that aren't Cadillac. GM I suspect designs cars to a strict budget, instead of designing a car and letting the transaction price reflect the extra quality that goes into it. How many times have we seen GM cars with obvious cost-cutting moves to save a dollar or two per car? Does anybody think consumers would balk at a hundred dollars or two for the same car, but without all those little cheapo cost-cuttings? Cars would probably sell better, and at a higher price because no one would feel like they were "settling" as much.

Olds, comparing your two pictures of the Honda/Acura TSX and the Insignia/Regal, I could quickly discern differences in quality almost immediately. These two are not equal. First off. Look at the design of the interior. In the Honda/Acura, everything in the center stack is pretty much flush. Things line up, gaps are minimal. In the Regal/Insignia, though, it wasn't even designed to be flush. You have the buttons sticking out from the radio backplate, a dash upper that sticks out even farther, wood trim that isn't flush with anything, and numerous cutlines that aren't even consistent in width, i.e. things weren't lined up properly in manufacturing and the interior doesn't fit well together. And panel gaps are 2-3 times the size of those in the Honda/Acura. Next, WTF with what looks like a very hard plastic center console and miniature "armrest"? Red backlighting also doesn't jive with Buick, but that's easily changed. My issue is like what Northie said: it isn't coming out today, it comes out in 3 years. It is IMO substandard now, it will be abysmal and ripped a new one in the press in 3 years. As it should be.

For comparing what, the Astra? GM has attempted to position Saturn as a premium alternative to VW, with AURA, ASTRA, VUE, OUTLOOK, and SKY. They've failed, and the Saturn brand cannot support the price points Olds easily could. Time for it to finally go.

As the article mentions: SAAB lacks a large dealership network. Why GM hasn't rectified this is a mystery to me.

I disagree. Both of those interiors look far more upscale than the Regal's.

And a better interior, overall. Funny, on the VW website it states that a front center armrest is standard equipment on both the 2-door and 4-door. It also comes with two cupholders. http://www.vw.com/rabbit/completespecs/en/us/#/show_all Isn't that just the damnedest thing?

Olds? No. It never was a "luxury" marque, and with Buick and Cadillac it didn't need to be. Olds was positioned perfectly; it just wasn't given enough time for the new product to catch on. Saturn only wishes it commanded the transaction prices that Olds did in its death throes.

QFT

This looks really retro to me, and in a good way--I've always thought MB-design was at its zenith from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, with solid, purposeful lines that create an air of luxury and exclusivity. This is a return to that IMO. I want to see how the interior fares, though, as MB interiors have SUCKED the past decade.

Being a dry-humored "douche."

Sorry, that interior is so poorly-assembled and/or frankly cheap-looking. I can't tell if it is actually poorly-assembled, or just designed to look that way. It better be upgraded for NA if Buick is to be "premium" in any loose sense of the word.

Deep dish BBQ?

I have poured over the interiors of all the latest MBs and BMWs. I'm honestly not impressed. They might be better than my 2001 M-Class, but they still suffer from many of the same shortcomings IMO. I don't agree with this characterization at all. GM has several different radio designs, and yes, a couple of those are "premium." I still don't understand why you want complexity and consider it a virtue in high-end models--you are the only reviewer I've seen who extols this. Yes, I want complex functions...but radios can be capable of complex operations with a simple, user-friendly interface. CTS C-Class Sorry, but I find the C-Class interior to look very cheesy, and not particularly luxurious, and certainly not more so than the CTS interior. Functionally, it seems Mercedes still has the same fetish with a sea of identically-sized and -spaced tiny buttons across the radio faceplate. Just like in my 2001 M-Class. The Cadillac's are sized differently, and some are more recessed than others so it's easier to find them. I also see the M-B doesn't have automatic climate control yet, so I hope it works a lot better than the unit in my 2001. Defog was never its strong suit. CTS has a pretty straight-forward auto climate control. Nice, pretty much what a vehicle of this class should come with. And dual-zoned to boot!

Because it's priced as a premium product.

How does Arizona not have good BBQ? The people I meet there seem cut from the same cloth as those in Florida, the Carolinas and/or Texas.

I don't care much for unrefined accents. Give me a refined New York, Southern, or West Coast accent any day over a screechy hick or nasal northern plains accent. Leaving the Indianapolis airport after arriving for Thanksgiving, "Whalecome ta India NAPolis!" screeched the woman with no teeth working the parking attendant booth. I've also learned NEVER to schedule a flight via Minneapolis, as the last time I was there on layover the accent on the PA system annoyed the $h! out of me. Stop swallowing your words people!

Because GM still really does not get it.

Cool, so why isn't GM installing this in the factory? That fixes may be easily available does NOT negate the presence of glaring deficiencies in the product to begin with. Why should a consumer have to go through that hassle with a brand new car for something that every other competitor offers standard, free of charge?

I disagree about it being overblown in the press. I wasn't even aware it was missing a second cupholder until I first saw one at the auto show and was excited to check it out because I heard how well it drove. Playing around in the interior, I quickly discovered this missing amenity, and even more quickly decided I was no longer interested in it. For people who have lived without cupholders, it may not be that big of a deal, but cupholders are pretty important to most buyers. If it took me a matter of less than 2 minutes to discover the Astra's deficiency with no prior knowledge, and for it to irritate me enough that I was no longer interested in it, that says something. There is very little that I consider essential in a car, without which I will not consider it. Armrests, cupholders, ABS, power windows and locks, height-adjustible front seat, and aux power outlets are musts, and a rear armrest and compass, and auto climate control are almost up there. Pretty much everything else goes in the "nice to have" but not necessary category. Some may find my list fussy, but I have sound reasons for each of those items.

Not everyone is as wonderful and special as you so as to be blessed without allergies. Not lazy, allergic.